


get a life

by saiharamp3



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:07:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27282406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiharamp3/pseuds/saiharamp3
Summary: shuichi makes some bad decisions(fallen angel!shuichi/demon!kokichi also there are other things happening idk help its good i promise)
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

He was pretty sure he’d been lonely for a while, but it was hard to tell how long a while was.

Time passed strangely when you realized that most of the habits of life were no longer necessary. Sleeping was more of a recreational activity for someone whose concept of physical activity didn’t extend past what was necessary for transportation. Eating was about the same. At first he had tried to maintain some kind of normal routine, but without something as constant and normal as a heartbeat the days became more of an abstract concept.

To say he was completely alone would be an overstatement. Kaede had visited often at first, but her visits had become more awkward and less frequent as the time went by. He couldn’t blame her, it would just look bad to be visiting someone like him that often.

Kaito had done about the same, at first displaying his usual stubborn enthusiasm, but then realizing his efforts were probably fruitless and leaving with a vague “tell me if you decide anything.”

With his previous sources of comfort absent, Shuichi had settled for company slightly more fitting to his current standing. 

“I hope you know how pathetic you look,” Maki stated bluntly, giving him a disapproving look from the doorway. Throwing the house key he had reluctantly let her have on the table. Shuichi let out a half-hearted noise of complaint. To be fair, he had managed to move from the bed to the couch, which he considered improvement. 

“Have you made up your mind yet?” she continued.

He looked up in slight surprise. It was a question he had been expecting, sure, but he didn’t think she would be so direct. Despite that, he had to admit that his friend had never been anything but blunt. 

Maki sighed. “Don’t give me that look. You can’t waste away here forever, and we both know that.”

“Technically I can…” He started, but Maki glared at the incoming statement, and he would have been a fool to not quiet. 

“I’m just saying,” he mumbled. “If I’m already dead then it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“So am I. So is everyone else. Why else would you be here? Here’s what happened, you fucked up, and clearly enough angels have done so that there are rules in place for the circumstance. The others understand, why don’t you?”

Shuichi wished he could have made a remark about her not understanding, but that would be wrong. Maki probably understood better than anyone else he could talk to. It was why she was still here. 

“The others won’t even say ‘fallen’,” he groaned. “Like it’s a curse or something. I think Akamatsu’s still in denial. And Momota’s convinced I’m going to go back.” 

Maki raised an eyebrow, “You are going to go back, aren’t you? I mean, this in between state fits you in a way, but you’re probably best off somewhere softer. I can’t exactly see you as the demonic type.”

She didn’t mention the third option. He didn’t expect her to. To become a grim reaper was often seen as a last resort, a path sometimes scorned and sometimes idolized. Maki wasn’t ashamed of herself, but the way she felt couldn’t be described as proud either. It was a fact she accepted without putting on any sort of airs. As if she considered herself completely separated from good and evil. The one thing she made clear was that she did not enjoy her decision, and loathed those who did.

“It’s just...is it really that simple? Things have changed. I just feel like…” the fallen angel trailed off. “Ah, never mind. I’m overthinking again.”

Maki stared at him for a moment, seemingly trying to decide what to say before settling on, “Don’t wallow in your self-pity too much, you act like a whiny bitch enough as it is.”

He stayed put for a few minutes after the door closed, before seriously contemplating if he would actually make the effort to go somewhere, and remembering that even if he didn’t want to, he was stubborn enough to not want to prove Maki right. 

It should be noted that Shuichi couldn’t be considered a social person. It wasn’t that he disliked people, on the contrary he enjoyed company. It was more so that interactions tended to be sticky. People would think he was unreliable, or weird, or awkward or… (okay he could find a lot of faults with himself) and then that achieved nothing but making him feel like shit. And the other option was that someone might get attached to him which, as nice of a concept it was, usually just ended up in him hurting or disappointing them later on. 

Taking all of that into account, he made it a rule to only go to places where he was safe sitting somewhere quietly by himself, with a decreased risk of others approaching him. The locations available to a fallen angel lowered his options, but he was aware of an acceptable library, and a nearby cafe. It was to the latter that he headed. Even if they were technically welcome, it would be rare to see a demon there. At least, that was what he thought. 

The first thing that struck him was the slightly suffocating aura of enchantment in the air. He never understood the people who put ridiculous amounts of effort into flaunting their position. Even before, he never went beyond the minimum. The halo was almost necessary, the wings a tradition, and the other accessories always something more understated. Now, he became suddenly aware of how bland he was in comparison to those around him, adorned with layers of light and darkness in a fashion that shouldn’t be capable. 

The second thing he noticed was that even if the main clientele seemed to be angelic in nature, he could clearly see a small gathering of demons in the corner. They seemed to deviate from the normal preference of lace and muted colors and other typically gothic things and instead were clad in a borderline garish assortment of neons and sparkles that made it very clear they were the sorts that wanted to draw attention. 

Shuichi ordered a coffee and tried to seat himself far away. He realized his efforts were in vain when he felt a gaze from across the room.

The perpetrator was clear. Shuichi didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed him at first, despite the boy’s small size it seemed that everything happening at the table revolved around him. He sat in an exaggeratedly casual position, a relaxed smirk painted across his face. A preposterous amount of pastries was laid out in front of him, most of them seemly having had only a few bites taken out of them before being tossed to the side. His eyes, overlaid with enhanced sparkles but a surprisingly natural shade of purple underneath, had been casually flickering across the fallen angel’s face when they realized he had been noticed. The grin widened, flashing a few small fangs. Shuichi looked away.

When he exited, the demon seemed to be engaged in some other conversation. It wasn’t until he had walked a few steps that he heard a quick patter of footsteps, and purple flashed at the edge of his vision.

“Don’t look so scared,” the demon pouted. “I just wanna talk!”

Shuichi didn’t say anything, but stopped walking. They were in a public area, so no real harm could be done to him, he assumed. The demon’s expression changed immediately, shifting into a wide smile.

“So, who are you?” he exclaimed, circling the fallen angel in a fashion somewhere between a playful child and a bloodthirsty shark. “It’s rare to see someone as bland-looking as you. Are you just really boring?”

The shorter boy paused to think. After a second of decision, he placed his hands on Shuichi’s shoulders and raised himself up without warning.

“You have pretty eyes, though,” he mused. “And now that I think about it, I can’t really tell what you are. Are you trying to hide something?”

Shuichi stiffened. “Why don’t you tell me who you are first?”

“Huh? You don’t know who I am? That’s pretty weird. I’ve kind of been a big deal for the angels lately, y’know. They’re all super terrified of me. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me.”

“A big deal…?” He couldn’t remember hearing anything that sounded close to that, but he hadn’t been paying much attention to angelic matters lately. Could this be something he hadn’t caught wind of yet?

The demon let out a high-pitched giggle. “Well if you have to think about it, then you must not be an angel! I get a lot of attention, so if you were fully angelic you would have been able to say who I was right away.”

 _Shit_. The demon had declared that almost casually, never once losing his childish attitude. It wasn’t like Shuichi was particularly secretive about his identity, but the way in which the other had figured him out was worrying. 

Unfazed, the demon continued. “I know you’re not a demon, because I would have seen you around. There’s a chance you could be a grim reaper, but if you were you probably would have done more than just stare at me this whole time. So you must be...a fallen angel!” He accompanied this with a dramatic flourish, his smile changing into a slight smirk. “Well? I got it didn’t I? Give me a reaction before this gets boring.”

He let out a sigh. It felt like the conversation had been going on forever, and yet he had gotten nothing but a headache. “If I admit defeat, will you leave me alone?”

“Aw, how mean. You wanted to know more about me, right? But I wasn’t going to just spill everything out all at once. Now that we’ve gotten your details out of the way, I’ll gladly answer all your questions.”

“What?” This conversation was switching topics way too fast, but the fallen angel sensed that he didn’t really have a chance to be in control from the beginning. It was partially true though. To leave someone so enigmatic and downright confusing alone would just annoy him. 

“We’ll start with names then. I’m Kokichi Ouma. And you?”

“Uh...Shuichi Saihara.” He paused, then decided to ask. “Where did your friends go? You seemed to be with a lot of people at the cafe?”

Kokichi scoffed. “Friends? Someone like me doesn’t have friends. It’s way too risky. Those people are all under my command. I told them to leave, so they did.”

“...Someone like you?”

“Didn’t I tell you already? Even if I don’t look like one, I’m actually a super powerful demon. Most hellish creatures are under my command at the moment. Then again, a fallen angel like you wouldn’t know that sort of stuff.”

Shuichi frowned. “You said that earlier. But if you were lying, then if I was an angel I’d be able to easily call you out. My silence might have made it so you know I’m not an angel, but that doesn’t mean that you’re as powerful as you say you are.”

Kokichi’s expression faltered for a second, briefly falling to something less dramatic, but almost pleased. “Ooh, now that was an interesting response. If you say stuff like that more often, then we can have a lot of fun.”

“You make it sound as though we’re going to meet again.”

“Well duh, of course we are! I can’t afford to let this go to waste. But at the same time, if we keep talking I might say something I shouldn’t. So, I think I’ll see you later, Saihara.”

Kokichi walked away, leaving his head spinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT 11/12 I MADE A REALLY FUCKING STUPID ERROR THAT I FIXED SHUICHI IS A FALLEN ANGEL I ACCIDENTALLY SAID GRIM REAPER ONCE GYHJKL;'


	2. edgy nerds discuss life and stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kokichi ouma is a trainwreck and writing him feels like wrecking a train
> 
> enjoy my inconsistent use of honorifics

Things weren’t making sense again, and Shuichi didn’t know how to feel about it. Having to solve problems, to figure things out, that was something that should have been reserved to the living world. In the afterlife, things went smoothly. You didn’t have to worry, you could let everything blur into a daze. Kokichi was something that didn’t fit into that world, with his enthusiasm and topic changes and vagueness. It irritated Shuichi to no end.

At least, that was what he thought at first. The next day, he decided, he would stay at home. He might even sleep, for a change.

Problem was, he didn’t let go of things that easily. He wanted to figure things out, to understand them completely. Misunderstandings scared him, they always had. But puzzles were different. To have something confusing in front of him was enticing, in all honesty. 

He had thought that there would never be anything to solve after he was gone, that those sorts of things were reserved to life. 

Kokichi hadn’t actually told him where they would meet up, so he found himself lingering in front of the cafe, hoping he wasn’t making a fool of himself.

“You actually came.” The demon noted flatly, as if he wasn’t sure what voice to use.

Shuichi blinked. “I guess I did,” he settled on, and let the demon lead him in.

“You don’t like sweet things, do you, Saihara-chan?” Kokichi observed, watching Shuichi stir his coffee.

“I suppose not.” It wasn’t that he disliked them, more so that eating them felt like an unnecessary sort of indulgence. 

“You suppose? Don’t use flimsy words like that. You should state things with more confidence. Me, I hate sweets! They’re gross and sticky and get everywhere.”

The fallen angel frowned. That was weird. “You had a lot of sugary things in front of you yesterday.” 

“Well you’re observant. But that wasn’t my food, it was my underlings’. I let them feast on as many gross things as they want if it helps control them.”

Shuichi doubted the whole “super powerful demon” thing, but he kept quiet. He got the feeling that if he spent his time commenting on everything suspicious, they would be there all day. “So what sort of things do you make demons do?” he asked instead.

Kokichi’s eyes lit up. “That’s a bold question. Normally, if someone asked me that sort of question I’d make them deepthroat a 6 ft long flaming spear in public. But we don’t have any of those around here. What a shame. After you did that I’d give you access to all my private information. Most people turn the offer down, but the ones worth keeping around have accepted it.”

“You’d make them do what? That’s impossible, if someone did that they would die-” Shuichi started, then paused to think. Could someone die twice? He’d never considered the scenario. 

“You figured it out! Doing deadly things here doesn’t really have that much of an effect. You’ll heal up just fine in a couple of years. So go ahead and try it!”

_A couple of years?_ “I...think I’ll pass.”

“A wise decision, if not a boring one. Hmm...I feel like a slice of cake. Tojo-chan!” he yelled, gesturing to the barista.

“You do know that’s not how this cafe works, right? And what happened to not liking sweets?”

“I was lying of course. And someone like you might think they have to stand in line to order, but the workers here know to obey me. If they’re not careful, I could bring the whole place down to ruin.” He stopped talking and gave a wide smile to the reaper in front of them, who glared at him with her uncovered eye.

“I would just like to make it clear that I serve you out of the goodness of my heart, and that goodness is capable of wearing out,” she stated primly. Kokichi rolled his eyes lazily.

“Sure, thanks Mom,” he drawled, as the reaper turned her back.

“Mom?” It was unusual, but not impossible, for people who knew each other in life to reunite. It was unlikely the two were actually mother and son though, even with the difference in maturity and height both seemed to be around his age. 

Kokichi nodded. “It’s actually quite a sad story. You see, Kirumi here died tragically in childbirth at a young age, and her poor abandoned son was barely able to survive as long as her.”

There was a beat of silence.

“I’m lying,” Kokichi clarified when it was clear Shuichi had no clue how to react. “But we do have a very close bond. If it wasn’t for Kirumi, I’d probably be a wreck by now. She basically saved me from some of the nastier people around here. I’m really grateful, so she’s basically a mother figure for me.”

“Ah, I see,” Shuichi nodded. That made more sense.

“But that was another lie! C’mon, I’d never end up in a position where I end up grateful to some lowly barista. I just call her that because she gets pissed off at me. It’s fitting though. She has this warm, motherly, aura, right? It just seems like she was made to keep you safe, and serve you food, and bug you about your personal life, and fuss over every little thing you do as if it’s the end of the world because she has nothing better to do. She makes good tea though, so I guess I’m grateful for that.”

Kirumi came back with a slice of chocolate cake, and Kokichi shot her a broad, angelic, smile.

“You lie a lot, don’t you?” Shuichi stated the obvious, his head spinning slightly. 

“Of course! Without lies, things would become boring super quickly. Lies are useful too, y’know? Everyone lies at some point, it’s just a part of life.”

“You say it’s a part of life but...we don’t have a life anymore. Why would you feel the need to do those sorts of things? There’s nowhere to get, no real motivation. It’s easy to get things. If you cheat, or take advantage of people, is it worth it in the end?” It was what had frustrated him earlier. The way Kokichi acted wasn’t just lively, it was completely alive, still tangled in all the complications and desires of life. Before, even the most energetic of those he met were content with how things were. Shuichi had never met someone so blatantly anarchistic towards death. 

Kokichi paused from his task of trying to eat all of the cake frosting, and none of the actual cake, and once again Shuichi saw a genuine look flicker onto his face. 

“When you thought about death before, did you think it would be like this? We’re not in any typical afterlife scenario, and you don’t exactly seem like the type to believe in an afterlife in general. Once we die, things are supposed to be over. I didn’t sign up to be handed some cheap version of living. I mean, if you think about it, people wouldn’t really have any motivation to try hard in life if they knew this was what would happen afterward. I don’t know about you, but I did a lot of things under the impression that I had one chance to get things done. There were still a lot of things that I wanted to do, or that I pushed off to the side. Now that I’m here, I’m not going to waste away unfinished. I plan to keep trying to live. What about you?”

“Huh?” Shuichi frowned, trying to place this somewhere within his own worldview. It went against everything that he viewed as common sense, but the problem wasn’t that he couldn’t wrap his head around it. The problem was that he understood it too much. 

“You’re a teenager too, aren’t you? Someone who died at seventeen or so can’t honestly say there wasn’t anything else he wanted to do. Even if you didn’t realize it, there must have been something that you enjoyed doing. Not stupid stuff like going to the movies or whatever, I mean actual skills you had.”

Shuichi stayed quiet, and this time Kokichi let him be, let the thoughts swirl about in his head even though there was already a clear answer. 

“Solving mysteries,” he said quietly, barley above a whisper.

“Hm?” Kokichi tilted his head to his side.

“Mysteries, puzzles, things like that. Solving them.”

The demon’s eyes lit up, and suddenly whatever solemnity that had developed shattered.

“I _knew_ you were interesting!” Kokichi exclaimed. “So...you’re like a detective or something?”

“I wouldn’t go that far…” Shuichi stammered, trying to adjust to the change in attitude.

“Well, I can give you all sorts of mysteries and puzzles to solve. You might not have noticed this, but I keep a lot of secrets!”

“Trust me, I noticed,” the fallen angel remarked dryly.

“Well, for starters, how about you try figuring me out?”

Kokichi flashed him another bright smile, and Shuichi raised an eyebrow.

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“I dunno, figure it out as you go along? If we keep meeting up, I’m sure your laser-sharp intuition will be able to detect any contradictions I make!”

“I...don’t think I ever mentioned having that kind of talent.”

“Nonsense. You’ve managed to avoid my wrath this far, haven’t you?”

Shuichi sighed. “Are you going to go back to lying and talking about demonic cults again?”

The demon pouted. “Aww, does Saihara-chan find me boring? You can leave at any point, you know?”

“...Will we be meeting here again?”

“Nah, I think I’ll take you somewhere else tomorrow. You can wait here again though, I can’t risk revealing any personal information.” Kokichi finished his cake.

“By the way, I’m super rich and all because I’m powerful and that stuff but I’m kinda on a budget so would you mind paying for this?”

Before Shuichi could protest, the demon leapt out of his chair and ran away, and once again the fallen angel wondered how he’d managed to end up in this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw uhhh every once and a while they might be mentioned but i do not plan to go into the full detail of how kokichi and shuichi died just because. i dont think its needed and it would just be kind of :/ to write about

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment if you want because im dead inside and require validation for my existence


End file.
